Wetting dolls or figures are well known in the art and have been presented in various embodiments for many years. Generally, a wetting doll includes an orifice for intake of liquid, a reservoir within the doll for holding the liquid, and an orifice for expulsion of the liquid from the doll. The expulsion of the liquid simulates the wetting action of the doll. Expulsion of the liquid may be controlled or uncontrolled, with various degrees of control and various mechanisms for effectuating such controlled expulsion. Controlled expulsion may include a delay in expulsion, a control limiting the amount of expulsion, a requirement for certain positioning of the doll, triggering from some external component, or manual pumping action from the user. The controlled expulsion may be combined with other simulations, such as production of tears, burping, or spitting. The various doll presentations exhibit a wide range of simulation accuracy in the reproduction of these physiologic functions.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,907,139 to Rekettye teaches a wetting doll having a gravity-influenced reservoir, allowing for the repeated discharge of small amounts of liquid. Rekettye teaches placing the reservoir in the head and positioning the doll upright as a means to release liquid from the reservoir for discharge.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,160,338 to Lyons et al. teaches a sound emitting and wetting doll having air bellows in the doll's body and head, a mouthpiece chamber, and a de-tuned reed, allowing for the simulation of delayed burping and spitting in addition to wetting. A simulated feeding bottle must be squeezed to fill the mouthpiece chamber. The doll automatically wets when the doll is placed in the upright position with the mouthpiece chamber filled.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,775,901 to Ellman et al. teaches a child's doll having a reservoir for fluid, a discharge valve that may be opened by a magnetic field, and a magnet attached to the seat of a toy chamber pot.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,839,819 to Hollingsworth et al. teaches a controlled wetting unit for a doll having a reservoir placed within the doll's torso, a manual squeeze bulb, and flow control valve. Hollingsworth et al. teaches a reservoir configuration that prevents premature wetting during the filling of the reservoir. Manual pumping of the squeeze bulb allows emptying of the reservoir and wetting while the doll is in the upright position. The purpose is to place wetting under control of the child.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,413,441 to Hunter et al. teaches a controlled wetting function doll having a reservoir for fluid in the doll's head, a pinch valve, and accompanying toy toilet. A hidden lever that is actuated by placement on the toy toilet opens the pinch valve.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,033,229 to Scherman et al. teaches a male doll medical device having a removable reservoir, external hand pump, and doll hands that may attach to the simulated human penis. The instructor hides the external hand pump behind a stand, which is also used to hold the doll in a standing position.
These teachings share a limitation in that wetting action is dependent upon the position of the doll. Those with controlled wetting mechanisms tend to require special actuation or positioning which distracts from the natural wetting experience. Squeeze bulbs for manual pumping tend to be located such that the doll must be incorrectly handled to actuate the pumping action, disrupting the simulation of the wetting action. These various configurations do not lend themselves to simulation of actual toilet training, as the dolls tend to have to be handled in an unnatural way to pump the liquid, such as pressing a thumb into the back of the doll, or the doll has to be in a seated position to accomplish wetting action. For seat-actuated dolls, the dolls must be precisely and fully seated to actuate the wetting function. This prevents a toilet training instructor from fully demonstrating the process of seating and urination, as the instructor is not able to position the doll in successive increments of the seating movement. This also prevents the instructor from controlling the wetting action throughout the duration of the seating movement. Additionally, a toilet training instructor is not able to demonstrate urination while standing. For back actuated dolls, the toilet training instructor projects confusing signals to the trainee, owing to the awkward positioning of the instructor's hands about the doll's torso to actuate the wetting.